Method of making ingots.



L. E. HOWARD. METHOD OF MAKING INGOTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYB, 191s.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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. g Lax W 5K ATTORNEYJ WITNESSES:

L. E. HOWARD.

METHOD OF MAKING INGOTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY s, 1913.

A 1 9 11 0 1 R m d 6 b 1 e t a P 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESSES:

A TTORNE VJ L. E. HOWARD.

METHOD OF MAKING INGOTS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1913,

Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYJ LESLIE E. HOW. l I

, 0F LQCKPORT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 SIMONIDS MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OF FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- GHUSETTS.

METHOD OF MAKINQ' INGUTS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16,1914t.

Application filed May 8, 1913. I SerialNo. 765,255.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, Lnsnm E. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lockport, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making ingots.

This invention relates to the art of manufacturing metal ingots, being designed chiefly for use in the manufacture of steel ingots.

In my Letters Patent No. 1,056,101, dated March 18, 1913, I have disclosed an ingot casting and compression machine wherein a two-part, separable ingot mold is located directly above and in vertical alinement with the compression die to receive the molten charge poured therein, and means are provided for opening the mold after the ingot has reached a state of partial solidification and lowering the partially cooled ingot therefrom directly into an underlying compression die.

lfn carrying out my present invention 1 preferably employ a compression die of the same character as that disclosed in my aforesaid patent, including similar means for lowering a partially cooled ingot into the die; but it is designed and adapted for the treatment of ingots which are poured into the ordinary solid or one-piece mold at a point out of line with the compression die and preferably adjacent to the latter, the mold and its contained partially cooled ingot being then bodily transferred to a position directly in line with the die, and the ingot thereupon transferred from the mold into the die.

My present invention is difierentiated from the method of operation disclosed in my aforesaid patent in that the pouring of the ingot into the mold takes place at a point out of direct line with the die, more or less remote from the latter, and the mold, with the con-- tained partially cooled ingot, is then bodily shifted to a position in longitudinal alinement with the die so that the ingot may then be readily transferred by an endwise movement between the die-blocks to receive lateral pressure whereby to cure the defect known as piping.

ln the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical form of apparatus in and by which the invention may be practised, and referring thereto-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, showing an ordinary tapered ingot mold, which may be assumed to contain a partially cooled ingot located adjacent to the upper end of the compression die, with the mold-stripping mechanism engaged therewith Fig. 2 is a similar View, showing the mold and ingot transferred to a position directly above the compression die, and the ingot partially lowered into the latter. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, omitting the stripper and the motive fluid supply pipes and valves; 4 is a similar top plan View of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail on the line 55 of Fig. 2. 7

Referring to the drawings, ll will first briefly describe the ingot press, which is a substantial duplicate of that shown in my Patent No. 1,056,101, equi ped with a single pair of die-blocks, in lieu of the two shown in said patent.

5 designates each of a pair of parallel sideframe members of the press, 6 an interlocking end frame member, and 7 a cylinder casting constituting the other end frame member and formed with a pair of cylinder chambers 8 therein. The frame sections are strongly and rigidly united by interlocking joints 9 and 10 between the side and end members and by tie-rods 11. Slidably fitted within the cylinder chambers 8 are rams or plungers 12, the outer faces of which abut against "a cross-head 13 that is supported on and bet-ween the side members 5 of the pressframe by means of flanges 1 1 on the crosshead resting on the upper edges of said frame members 5. The other face of the cross-head 13 in turn abuts against the back of the movable die-block 15 that cooperates with a stationary die-block 16; both of said die-blocks being supported on and between the side members 5 of the press-frame by lateral flanges 17 and18, respectively. The die-blocks 15 and 16 have formed in their opposite faces V-shaped recesses 19 and 20,

respectively, that unitedly form the subnected with a highpressure supply pipe 25 and an exhaust pipe 26. The cross-head 13 is retracted by power mechanism comprising a cylinder 27 secured to the outer face of the end wall casting 7 a plunger 28 in said cylinder, a cross-head 29 on the outer end of said plunger, and pull-bars 30 connected at their outer ends to the ends of said crosshead and at their inner ends formed with hooks 31 engaging grooves 32 formed in the opposite sides of the cross-head 13. A branch pressure fluid supply pipe 33 leads from the supply pipe 25 to the inner end of cylinder 27, whereby the cross-head 13 is normally maintained fully retracted and the compressing die open; the cross-section of the plunger 28 being so small relatively to the cross-sections of the rams 12 as to make it practically inexpedient to equip the cylinder 27 with fluid pressure controlling valves.

Secured to the end wall 6 of the pressframe is a bracket or shelf 34 that afiords a support or rest for the ingot mold 35, herein shown as a mold of the ordinary solid tapered form resting at its wide end on a stool or block 2 that is removably secured on the shelf 34 by key lugs 2 and 34 on the sides of the stool and shelf, respectively, and interposed wedge-shaped keys 3. The mold 35 has a pair of lateral trunnions 36 by which it is readily engaged by the stripper-links 37.

38 is the stripper-ram which operates in the usual manner to press the ingot down as the mold is raised by the stripper-links.

39 designates each of a pair of stop-lugs formed on the upper side of the die member 15 which aid in properly centering the mold above the die, as hereinafter described.

40 designates a pressure cylinder that is suspended from the press-frame by links 41 that are pivotally hung from the opposite sides 5 of the press-frame and engage trunnions 42 on the upper end of the cylinder 40. lVithin the cylinder 40 is a plunger-rod 43 carrying on its upper end a plate or block 44 adapted to engage the lower end of the ingot in the operation of lowering the latter into the die, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Also connected to the trunnions 42 are a pair of approximately horizontal bars 45 that are connected at their other ends to a cross-head 46 fast on the outer end of the rod 47 of a piston 48 that operates in a cylinder 49 secured to the outer face of the end frame 7 below the cylinder 27. Fluid pressure is alternately admitted to and exhausted from op posite sides of the piston' 48 through pipes 50 and 51 and a two-way cook 52 controlling the communication of said pipes 50 and 51 with a low-pressure supply pipe 53 and exhaust pipe 54. Fluid pressure is admitted to and exhausted from the cylinder 40 through a flexible pipe or hose 55 and acoupling 56, theother end of the hose 55 communicating alternately with supply and exhaust pipes 53 and 57, respectively, through a controlling cook 58. Stops 59 on the side frames 5 limit theinward swing of the links 41 to a point at which the cylinder 40 is in substantial axial alinement with the superjacent die.

The stripper herein indicated is of the ordinary crane type, and is operated by electric, hydraulic, or other power. In carrying out the novel method of operation in the manufacture of an ingot through the agency of the apparatus herein shown and described, the ingot mold 35, at the start, stands on the stool or block 2, which, of course, then forms the bottom closure for the mold, as shown in Fig. 1. The mold is then poured by any of the usual forms of pouring devices, and after the ingot has stood in the mold for a predetermined time, or until it has become sufiiciently set to stand stripping, the stripper is then brought into the position shown in Fig. 1. Instead, however, of stripping the ingot in the position in which it is cast, as is usual, the mold containing the ingot is lifted bodily a few inches, and the stripper carrying the mold and ingot is then adjusted by a lateral shift so as to bring the mold in approximately vertical alinement with the compression die, as shown in Fig. 2, in which operation the stop-lugs 39 assist in an obvious manner. Prior to or during this bodily transfer of the mold and ingot from the stool 2 to a position directly above the die, the valve 52 is operated to bring the cylinder 40 from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 to the full line position shown in the same figure and in Fig. 1, and the valve 58 is then turned to elevate the plunger-stem 43 and block 44, so that the ingot practically rests at this point in the operation on the latter. The die-blocks being at this time opened or separated, the stripper is now brought into action; but instead of the stripping-ram 38 which rests on the top of the ingot simply coming down and holding the ingot from lifting, it pushes the ingot from the mold part way into the die, the ingot at this time resting on the plungerhead or block 44, and the stripper-links serving simply to keep the stripper from rising from the crane-ways while the plunger is thus pushing out the ingot. During this operation the valve 58 controlling the oper-,

ation of cylinder 40 is placed at discharge position, so that after the ingot leaves the I mold it is borne by block 44 and allowed to descend into the die at a speed depending on the amount of opening of valve 58.

1t is advisable to leave the mold in the position shown in Fig. 2 until the ingot has descended approximately one-half of the way into the die, so that the mold may afford a partial support to the ingot to keep it from tipping over. The stripper now picks the mold up and either places it back in the position shown iii Fig. 1, or places it among other cooling molds, and picks up a new mold and places it upon the shelf or stool 34:. As soon as the in otv has been fully lowered between the die-blocks, the valve 24 is operated to admit high pressure behind the rams 12, and the ingot then undergoes a graduated lateral compression in 1,056,101, I have'described quite fully the advantages resulting from effectin the casting and the lateral compression 0 an ingot in separate receptacles. The aforesaid patent discloses an apparatus for this purpose that is, to a considerable extent, of special design and construction. One object of my present invention has been toenable this advantageous feature of separate casting and compression of an ingot to be carried out in a practicable and workable manner in plants using the standard one-piece tapered molds and any standard forni of crane stripper. This is accomplished by providing means whereby the ingot can be poured in suitable or convenient proximity to the compression die and, then be readily transferred while in a' partially cooled conclaimed herein, but forms the subject-matter of a divisional application filed by me on the 19th day of Nov., 1913, Serial .No. 801,788.

1. A method of manufacturing ingots,

which consistsdn pouring the metal into a.

mold, allowing the metal to artially solidify in the mold, transferring t e mold containing the partially cooled ingot to a position in line, with a compressing die, passin the ingot from the mold into the die, and nally applying lateral pressure to the ingot by means of the die.

2. A method .of manufacturing ingots,

which consists in pouring the metal into a mold at a point adjacent to a compressing die, allowing the metal to partially solid fy in the mold, transferring the mold contaming thepartially cooled ingot to a position directly above and in substantial axial alinement with the die, strippmg the mold from the ingot, lowering the ingot into the die,

' and finally applyin lateral pressure to the -ingot by means of t e die. LESLIE E. HOWARD. Witnesses:

ABNER T. HOPKINS,

FLORENCE W. FURoAsoN. 

